It's Better Down Under

Australia, and Australians in general, have always been on a pedestal of sorts in my mind. They have cooler sports cars. They invented the Melbourne Shuffle, which is a dope-ass dance move. The late Steve Irwin is from Australia. And my favorite rock band of all time, TOOL, has gone on record stating that their Australian fans are more intelligent and understanding of their music and message.

That is some impressive "street cred" in my opinion. And the long list of dope Australian facts has just gained another entry. Less than half of Australia's youth believe in God! While it is true that this link is from a British secularism website, please note that the study was a three-year-long joint effort between Monash University, the Australian Catholic University, and the Christian Research Association. If anyone wants Australian youth to be theistic, it's these sponsors. Indeed, they didn't expect these results:

The study, The Spirit of Generation Y, found just 48 per cent of those born between 1976 and 1990, believed in a god. Dr Andrew Singleton, of Monash University, a co-author of the study, said they were surprised by the findings. “It’s well known that there has been a turn away from church attendance and participation in young people,” he said. “But we thought there was going to be a move towards alternative spiritualities. There are still a number turning towards it, but not as big as you would have thought.”

Emphasis mine.

I wonder just how bummed out the top cheeses in those universities are after spending all that time and money on the study just to find out that the youth are snubbing their superstitious wrinkly asses? And it seems implied that these study sponsors would rather have the Aussie youngsters be into alternative spiritualities than straight-up atheists. If that's the case, then I'm glad that they were disappointed.

Australia looks to have a very bright future. Okay, can I please marry some hot Australian atheist girl who rocks to TOOL, drives a Ford GT-P, and busts out the Melbourne Shuffle on the dance floor now?